Stable isotope analysis -1: MassWorks on conventional gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer

分子内Stable Isotope Probing 法とは，特定の部位を人工的に同位体標識した基質（ブドウ糖など）を用いて，その同位体標識の移動を，単一の生物体内，生物群集内，または海底の堆積場で追跡することで，試料中で起きている代謝合成経路の可視化や，生化学反応の特定を行う手法である．この手法は，近年，ガスクロクロマトグラフ-質量分析計（GC-MS）と質量のキャリブレーション用のソフトウェアMassWorks の組み合わせにより，大きく発展した．本稿では，この手法の原理について解説する．MassWorks is an acquisition software that works on the mass spectra of conventional gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, to determine stable isotope labels in organic compounds. The analysis of the isotope labels at the level of individual positions in organic compounds is potentially highly useful as a novel ‘Position-Specific Stable Isotope Probing’ to trace metabolic flow and associated function in diverse samples including single organisms and biotic community as well as sedimentary site. We review a brief outline of MassWorks and its application